EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht Exchange Report | Fall 2018

Lo Hon Lam

Economics & Finance, Year 3

Page PART I Monthly Activity Log 3-6 PART II General Exchange Information 7-9 PART III Items to bring 10 PART IV Useful Links and Contacts 11

TABLE OF CONTENTS

August

I arrived 2 weeks before the school starts for the German Intensive Language Course. There was

a guided tour on that day, I met some of the exchange students who turned out to be my travel

buddies. Oestrich-Winkel is a beautiful small town surrounded by vineyards. I like this town

because the relaxing atmosphere here is a contrast as it is in Hong Kong.

After the intensive course finishes, I travelled to the southern part of Germany, including

Heidelberg, Füssen. I also took a 10-minute train to a local vacation spot named Rüdesheim,

where I took the cable car to overlook the entire view of the town and the River Rhine.

ALERT: Three things that needs to be processed as soon as possible (in ascending order):

Address Registration, student ID, and bank account. I went to the Address Registration Office to

register my address, which is a prerequisite to open a German bank account. I would suggest

registering before the intensive course starts because the opening hours clashed with the

lesson.

September

Having a bike is crucial if you don’t live next to Campus Schloss. Luckily my landlord lend me a

bike (free of charge) so I only need 10 minutes to bike to school (20 minutes walking distance

otherwise). The German Intensive Language Course exam took place in the first week of

September. I managed to successfully register for a few courses. I had to update my timetable

frequently as it might change according to the professors’ availability (some courses are taught

by visiting professors). Unexpectedly, I developed an interest in cooking and learnt quite a lot of

recipes from Youtube including pancakes, broccoli with cheese, carbonara, risotto. Cooking

makes my exchange experience more fruitful.

PART I

Wine Festival Exchange friends German class

Baden Baden -

Germany

Black Forest –

Germany

London

I had some free time for travel, so I went to Prague - Czech Republic and Amsterdam,

Rotterdam – Netherlands. I realized the culture difference between the Czech and the Dutch.

The Dutch are more welcoming while the Czechs are the opposite.

October

Germany is famous for its Oktoberfest, which is held in Munich. I took a

6 hour Flixbus to Munich and spend a day there. It is similar to AIA in Hong Kong, but much

bigger. Germans would dress up in costumes and dance. The entire atmosphere was

unforgettable. After that day, I went to the Black Forest (Schwarzwald). The Black Forest is a

region famous for it’s trees, lakes and waterfall. I spent 3 days exploring Titisee, Triberg

Wasserfall and Fussen. I never regretted as this trip costed me the least among all my travels

and never had I been closer with Mother Nature.

My second trip of this month is Milan. As a person who loves icecream very much, I’d

recommend this place as the gelato is the best.

My third trip in October is London. London is quite a surprise for me because unlike other

European countries, London has the most variety of cuisines to choose from. I missed Asian

food a lot and I realized it was hard to find Asian cuisines except for London. I stayed at my

friends’ university who were studying in the UK. I spend a lot during this trip as the cost of living

is relatively higher in the UK.

Prague

Amsterdam

Prague

Study Abroad Fair

Berlin Hamburg

November

The weather drastically turned cold in November, a very memorable month as this is the first

time I went for solo travel. I went to Hamburg and Berlin with 3 hours ride in between. Besides

meet a German photographer in Hamburg, Hamburg fascinates me in a sense that the city is

very modern and innovative. Berlin on the other hand, is very historical and the night life is the

best among all cities in Germany.

A study abroad fair was held to promote HKUST to students in EBS. Mark and I set up the booth

and bought local snacks like egg rolls and brewed bubble tea for the Germans to have a taste of

Asian food.

December

I stayed in my dorm to revise most of the time. I had 5 final exams and 2 presentations. German

professors tend to provide exam tips, for example what will be the focus of the exams. Make

sure that you are enrolled in every exam because I encountered a technical mistake where I

almost missed my exam because the exam somehow did not appear on my schedule.

Christmas in Germany is quite different from other countries. They focus on family and children

a lot. They showcase products like handmade chocolate (Schokolade), socks and gloves. Before

leaving Germany, I still cannot resist trying their sausage with bread (Wurst mit Brot) and their

hot wine (Glühwein). I loved the Christmas market in Mainz the best because Mainz is a

younger town after all.

After I finished all my exams, I travelled to Zurich (Switerland), Salzburg, Vienna (Austria),

Brussels, Bruges (Belgium), Paris (France). The weather was extremely freezing in late

December, especially when it was snowing. I closed my bank account and withdraw all the cash

First day of snow

Paris

Christmas market in Germany

Delicious waffles in Brussels

from my account before leaving Germany. I was very cautious when I was travelling, luckily I did

not encounter any unpleasant experience.

Visa Procedures

• My visa took approximately 1.5 month to proceed. I advise applying the visa once you

get the Acceptance Letter from EBS.

• Prepare in advance as you need to schedule a meeting with the embassy through their

website

• Documents for the visa includes acceptance letter from EBS, health insurance, housing

letter from EBS, personal photo, financial proof from parents (please check you have ALL

documents as listed from the embassy)

• Choose the visa that is valid for your ENTIRE stay in Germany, otherwise the embassy

will issue a 3-month visa, which you will have to pay extra and go through complicated

application procedures for the ‘Residential Permit’

Orientation Activities

• a campus tour is provided on the first day of the German intensive language course

• official compulsory orientation commerce a few days before the semester starts (topics

such as exam guidelines, course registration, career, international student service etc

are covered)

• Orientation Dinner: free buffet at a restaurant near the campus.

• an opening party is held in the school on the first Friday night of the semester

International Services & Activities

The international office provides information for exchange students. Melanie Butzloff

(melanie.butzloff@ebs.edu) will assist exchange students throughout the exchange. EBS

sometimes provides activities for exchange students to gather. An exchange buddy will also be

assigned to you after around one month of arrival. At the end of the semester, the international

office held a Christmas gathering where we had the chance to taste local German snacks.

Accommodations

• EBS do not have their own dorms/halls, but they provide flat hunt for flats in the region

• Flat hunt is quite competitive, and it is on a first-come-first-serve basic

PART II

• The school failed to allocate a flat for me unfortunately, however, there are flat postings

on the News page of the CampusNet

• Alternatively, you can also join the Facebook group for accommodation alternatives: EBS

Housings – Students for Students

Accommodation locations in ascending order according to the distance from campus:

1. Oestrich

2. Winkel

3. Hattenheim

4. Wiesbaden

My shared flat is located in Lindenstrasse 51, which is 5 minutes’ walk to Burg campus, 20

minutes’ walk to Schloss campus.

Courses Registration

The registration system is similar to the one in HKUST. Each module contains 2 courses. Some

courses are ‘Single Course’, otherwise you need to register for the entire module. If you

encounter time clash, you can still register for this course. There are quotas in each module so

make sure you plan ahead and register once the registration period starts.

Teaching & Assessment Methods

Most of the course do not have mid-terms. Finals constitutes 100% for some of the course.

Some courses have presentation and finals. Professors are very linear when giving grades in

presentation. For exams, most professors tell you what will be covered in exam and what will

not. After all the finals are finished, it took EBS 2 months to process the grades and transcript.

Sports & Recreation Facilities

• EBS is a small community. They only have football team and cheering team.

• No sports facilities in the campus

• There is a gym ‘Vivana’ in Winkel, which is quite expensive (bus ride/ 20 minutes by

bike)

Finance & Banking

There are a few options to open a bank account

• Blocked account activated in Hong Kong

• Open a bank account in Germany

o Upon arrival, I went to Volksbank (Oestrich) and open my bank account. It will be

activated with a card after one week. Below are the documents that requires to

open an account

▪ Address Registration Letter

▪ EBS Student ID Card

▪ Passport

Social Clubs & Networking Opportunities

In fall, the largest networking event is the EBS Symposium. Students can pay to register for this

event if you want to mingle with seniors in renowned companies (Deutschbank, Pwc, Deloitte

etc). The Students Body sometimes organize events for students, eg. Opening Party, Halloween

Party and Semester Closing Party.

Health & Safety

Oestrich is a small and safe town as most of the villagers are elderlies and young kids. The last

train from Frankfurt to Oestrich is usually around 10:30pm. There are some doctors and dentist

in the town. Remember to bring your insurances form when you visit them.

Food

There are not a lot of restaurants in Oestrich, there are a plenty of them in Wiesbaden and

Frankfurt. Normally, I will go to the supermarket Aldi, Rewe, Netto in Oestrich and cook in my

dorm. If you miss Chinese food, there is a Chinese restaurant across Wiesbaden Bahnhof and

several Chinese hotpot in Frankfurt. If you miss bubble tea, I would not recommend the one in

Frankfurt. I bought bubbles from the Chinese supermarket in Frankfurt and brew tea on my

own.

Transportation

2 main kinds of transport are covered. The train (RB10) comes every half hour during peak

hours, otherwise every hour in non peak hours. The bus 181 (stops in front of campus Schloss),

171(stops near campus Schloss), they usually come every hour and they are either early or late.

They are never on time!

Duration from Oestrich to Wiesbaden: half an hour

Duration from Oestrich to Frankfurt: one hour

I would strongly suggest you to ask your landlord if the rent covers a bike, because it is very

convenient and flexible if you travel by bike.

Climate

When I arrived in August, Germany is pretty hot as they do not have air conditions in

classrooms nor in public transport. In winter, it is both windy and freezing. Gloves and beanie

are essential especially when I was riding a bike to school. Heaters are installed in apartments

and in the school, so it is very warm indoors.

Communication

I bought a SIM card from supermarket Rewe with a brand named ‘Lebara’. For every 3GB per

month, I pay 10 euros. I added value in my account every month. However, I need to charge my

SIM card with minimum of 15 euros. (that means if you want to use 3 month of 3GB, you

charge 30eruos) I made a mistake by clicking ‘top up’ in my mobile app, the app will think you

want to add 3GB that expires this month. In order to avoid such problem, I suggest not to use

all the data before each month.

Cautionary measures

• Supermarkets and shopping malls are not open on Sundays

• Keep your Student ID safe as it costs you 120 euros to get a new one

• Alert at all times especially when you travel to Italy, I heard some of my friends having

unpleasant experience in Italy

• The period when I was travelling to Paris was when the Yellow Vest Movement broke

out. For personal safety, travel with a group of friends and go to places further from the

city center to avoid protest, which usually happens on Saturdays. (Luckily I went to

Disneyland and did not encounter any protester)

Items to Bring

Important documents

Visa/ Insurance/ HKID

Personal Care

Comb /Hairdryer /Facewash/ Razer

Electronics

Computer/ European Plug/ Extension leads

Health

Medicine

Others

Stationary/ Umbrella

PART III

Useful Links and Contacts

Melanie Butzloff (International Student Coordinator)

melanie.butzloff@ebs.edu

Julia Bayer (Housing Coordinator)

Julia.Bayer@ebs.edu

PART IV